Arsenal supporters have complained to UEFA over their match timing against BATE Borisov in a written match. The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust have branded the kick-off time for their Europa League clash with BATE Borisov as “unacceptable”.
The Gunners will look to overturn the 1-0 deficit from the first leg when they welcome BATE to Emirates on Thursday night.
The encounter will get underway at 5:55pm with fans facing a struggle to get across north London in time for kick-off. Chelsea are also in action in the Europa League as they host Malmo at Stamford Bridge but the match will get underway at 8pm.
AST have sent a letter to UEFA to complain over the kick-off time with the match likely to get underway with vast amounts of empty seats.
The decision has been branded “unacceptable and inconvenient”, with the letter adding: “This is both unfair on Arsenal supporters and will lead to a poor atmosphere in the stadium.”
It adds: “Increasingly we are seeing TV companies dictate the kick off time and the actual match going fan becoming more and more a secondary consideration but this forthcoming UEFA league match takes things to an unprecedented new level.
“Can you also give a reassurance that having been faced with this situation that UEFA will ensure that such scheduling does not occur again.”
Arsenal will look to overturn a 1-0 deficit when they welcome the Belarus side to the Emirates. Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil could return but Alexandre Lacazette is suspended.